Lab Vocabulary Flashcards
Agar
Provides a solid matrix to support bacterial growth
Antibiotic selection
Use of an antibiotic to select becateria containing the DNA of interest
Arabinose
A carbohydrate isolated from plants that is normally used as a food source by bacteria
Beta-lactamase
A protein that provides resistance to the antibiotic ampicillin
Biotechnology
Applying biology in the real world by the specific manipulation of living organisms to produce potentially beneficial products
Cloning
The process of generating virtually endless copies of an organism or segment of DNA
Colony
A clump of genetically identical bacterial cells growing on an agar plate
Culture media
The liquid and solid media referred to as LB (Luria and Bertani)
Genetic engineering
The manipulation of an organisms genetic material by introducing or eliminating genes
Gene regulation
Gene expression in all organisms is carefully regulated to allow for differing conditions and to prevent wasteful overproduction of unneeded proteins
Green fluorescent protein
Originally isolated from bioluminescent jellyfish, resonates when exposed to ultraviolet light and gives off energy in the form of visible green light
Plasmid
A circular DNA molecule capable of self replicating, carrying one or more genes for antibiotic resistance proteins
pGLO
Plasmid containing the GFP sequence and ampicillin resistance gene
Recombinant DNA technology
The process of cutting and recombining DNA fragments as a means to isolate genes or to alter their structure and function
Screening
Process of identifying wanted bacteria from a bacterial library
